Northumbrian eordu recension

A critical edition of the probable recension archetype

Based on Di with collations from Br[1], P1.

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Poem

    Nu [ƿ]ue sc[iu]lun[2] herga      hefunricaes [ƿ]ueard,

    metudaes mechti,      and his modgedanc[3],

    [ƿ]uerc [ƿ]uldurfadur      suae[4] he [ƿ]undra gihuaes,

    eci drichtin,      or astalde!

5     He aerist scoop      eordu[5] bearnum

    hefen[6] to hrofe,      halig sceppend;

    [ð]a[7] middu[n]geard[8],      moncinnes [ƿ]eard,

    eci drichtin,      aefter tiade

    firum on foldu,      frea allmechtig.


Apparatus (All witness readings (parallel))

1a Nu] Nu Di Nu P1 Nu Br.

1a [ƿ]ue] pue Di puc P1 puc Br.

1a sc[iu]lun] scwlun Di scııılııı P1 scinlun Br.

1a herga] herga Di herga| P1 horga Br.

1b hefunricaes] he fu\n/rıca es| Di hesııı rıııca es P1 hesım|ruica es Br.

1b [ƿ]ueard] pueard· Di pueard P1 pueard Br.

2a metudaes] metuda es Di ıııetııııdaes P1 metundaes Br.

2a mechti] mechtı· Di ıııechtı P1 mechti| Br.

2b and] and Di and P1 and Br.

2b his] hıs Di hıs P1 his Br.

2b modgedanc] modgedeanc| Di ıııodged|aııc P1 modged auc Br.

3a [ƿ]uerc] puerc Di puere P1 puere Br.

3a [ƿ]uldurfadur] puldur fudur Di fadur P1 fadur Br.

3b suae] suae Di suae P1 suae| Br.

3b he] hae Di he P1 he Br.

3b [ƿ]undra] pundra Di puııdra P1 pundra Br.

3b gihuaes] gı huaes| Di gı huaes P1 gi hnaes Br.

4a eci] ecı Di ecı P1 eci Br.

4a drichtin] drıchtın Di dro\ı/ch tııı P1 drıch tin Br.

4b or] or Di or P1 or Br.

4b astalde] astalde Di astalde| P1 astnl|de Br.

5a He] he Di her P1 he Br.

5a aerist] u\a/erst Di aeırst P1 aerıst Br.

5a scoop] scoo p Di scoop P1 sco op Br.

5b eordu] eor du| Di eor du P1 eor du Br.

5b bearnum] bearnum Di pearıııım P1 peannum Br.

6a hefen] efen Di efen P1 he |fen Br.

6a to] to Di to P1 to Br.

6a hrofe] hrofe Di hrofe P1 hrofe Br.

6b halig] halıg Di halıg P1 halig Br.

6b sceppend] sceppend Di sceppend P1 sceppend Br.

7a [ð]a] da· Di | P1 da̽ Br.

7a middu[n]geard] mıd|dumgeard Di mıddum geard P1 middum|gaerd Br.

7b moncinnes] moncınnes Di moııeıııııes P1 moneınnes Br.

7b [ƿ]eard] peard Di peard P1 peard Br.

8a eci] é Di eeı P1 eei Br.

8a drichtin] drıntın Di drıchtıııı P1 drichtin| Br.

8b aefter] c ef|ter Di aef ter P1 aef ter Br.

8b tiade] tıade Di tıade P1 cia de Br.

9a firum] fırum· Di fırıııı| P1 firum Br.

9a on] on Di ol P1 ol Br.

9a foldu] foldu Di foldu P1 foldu Br.

9b frea] frea Di frea P1 fre Br.

9b allmechtig] allmechtıg·| Di all ıııechtıg P1 all|mechtig· Br.


Notes

[1]None of the scribes responsible for copying this recension appear to have understood their text. See §§ 7.8 and 7.42 for a discussion of the editorial conventions used in establishing the text of this recension.

[2]sc[iu]lun] Wuest 1906 reads scuilun. Smith 1978, Dobbie 1937, O’Donnell 1996b read sciulun. See §§ 7.36, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159; Cavill 2000, 513.

[3]modgedanc] Wuest 1906 and Dobbie 1937 have a medial <ð> in this word. Smith 1978 and O’Donnell 1996b both read <d>. See §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.

[4]suae] Howlett suggests that suae may be intended as an adverb (“thus”) rather than a causal conjunction (“as, because”). For a discussion of the evidence, see above, § C.9. The punctuation here assumes suae is a conjunction.

[5]eordu] Dobbie 1937 reads eorðu. Wuest 1906, Smith 1978, and O’Donnell 1996b read eordu. See §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.

[6]hefen] Wuest 1906, Dobbie 1937, and Smith 1978, none of whom had access to Br, omit the initial <h> on the authority of Di and P1. The letter is added here and in O’Donnell 1996b on the basis of the reading in Br. See §§ 7.41 above.

[7][ð]a] Wuest 1906, Dobbie 1937, and O’Donnell 1996b read ða; Smith 1978 reads da. See above, §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.

ða can be construed as either a causal conjunction (“when”) or an adverb (“then”). While the reading has considerable effect on our understanding of the poem’s structure and theology (see above, § C.9, and esp. Blockley 1998, 20-26), neither reading can be ruled out conclusively. The punctuation in this edition follows that of most modern editions in treating ða as an adverb.

[8]middu[n]geard] <um> for expected <un> may go back to the original exemplar of this tradition. Although as Cavill notes, “the addition of an extra minim in a sequence such as -un- is one of the commoner scribal mistakes” in this tradition (Cavill 2000, 519), this is the only example in the recension in which all surviving manuscripts agree in the error.